Porthgwarra

Area

Porthgwarra is the relatively secret West Cornwall cove situated roughly 3 miles southeast of Land’s End. Once a small fishing cove, only one boat still works out of Porthgwarra but signs of the industry leave a reminder of days gone by. At low tide a small beach is revealed, along with an array of rock pools and caves and at high tide the cove offers up fantastic snorkelling conditions. Originally carved through the local granite by tin-miners, a tunnel was used by horse and carts to collect seaweed for fertiliser. You can still walk through it! The second tunnel was carved to allow fisherman to access to the tidal ‘hulleys’ – natural gulleys used to store shellfish prior to being taken to market. The St Aubyn Estate privately owns the cove and slipway but the public are allowed to enjoy them. During the summer a small café is open for cream teas and pasties.

Directions

From the Land’s End road, follow signs to Porthgwarra. Drive all the way to the bottom of the road and park in the small car park behind the houses. Walk down the road until you reach the cobbled slipway.